Anything that's rock 'n' roll's fine

I wanted to get up a quick post tonight just so you all know I’m still alive here. I had to take an unexpected, work-related trip to Tampa early in the week and that kind of threw me off.

I’ve been on a little bit of a Tom Petty kick lately, pulling out the old disks and giving them a listen for the first time in a year or so. And when I say old disks, I mean the first couple of TP albums, so that’s going back a few years.

Tom Petty’s eponymous debut album was released in 1976. Allmusic.com said the disk could almost be considered punk rock: “They weren't as reckless or visionary as the Ramones, but they shared a similar love for pure '60s rock and, for the Heartbreakers, that meant embracing the Byrds as much as the Stones. And that's pretty much what this album is – tuneful jangle balanced by a tough garage swagger.”

Three years later, Petty released what would be his breakthrough – Damn the Torpedoes. This was the album that introduced me to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. These many years later, Damn the Torpedoes remains as one of my favorite TP albums. The title, in case you’ve been wondering, comes from a quote by Admiral David Farragut. Warned of mines, called torpedoes, in the water ahead, Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes! Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!” (source)

So, because I’m generally nice, here are a couple of my favorites from those two disks.

Rockin’ Around (With You).mp3
Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll.mp3
Refugee.mp3
Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid).mp3

Labels: classic rock

posted by aikin @ 8:51 PM